Man got cousins, friends drunk and sexually assaulted them while they slept, court told

A Manitoba man who repeatedly sexually abused several of his cousins and friends, largely while they were sleeping off nights of drinking, took video and photographs of his assaults.

The 24-year-old Sagkeeng First Nation man pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault against four victims in the First Nation and nearby Powerview-Pine Falls, as well possession of child pornography, in front of Court of King’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey Tuesday.

He can’t be identified under court order to protect the identity of his victims, as two of them are his cousins. All were adults at the time.

After the man pleaded guilty, Crown prosecutor Keith Chadwick-Garrett read out an agreed statement of facts detailing the crimes.

Three of the victims went to RCMP in Powerview on March 19, 2024 and provided statements outlining the offences the man committed against them, while the fourth victim made a statement the following day.

The first victim, a cousin, was drinking alcohol with the man on Oct. 1, 2022 at his home. The victim drank until blacking out, then awoke while being sexually assaulted the next day, said Chadwick-Garrett. The victim, who suffered an injury as a result, dressed and left the residence.

In February the next year, the man and the first victim, along with another cousin, were staying at the Papertown Motor Inn in Pine Falls and drinking. The first victim blacked out and awoke next to the second victim, both with their pants and underwear off, despite going to sleep wearing their clothes.

In July 2023, the man and the second victim were drinking at his home and the victim tried to comfort him about his relationship with his parents and he asked her to lay down with him, but she declined because of their family relationship, said Chadwick-Garrett. The man then forcibly groped her before she left.

Later that same month, the second victim and the man went to the first victim’s trailer in Sagkeeng, where the trio drank until falling asleep on a mattress together. She awoke to the man sexually assaulting her and woke the first victim, who kicked the man in the face until he stopped. He later tried to take off the first victim’s pants, but she again kicked him in the face.

In March 2024, the third victim went to the man’s trailer and drank with him, but got sick and told him she didn’t want to drink anymore. The man asked her to stay while he finished off the liquor, while he repeatedly asked her to sleep in the bed with him and touched her inner thigh. He eventually grabbed her by the neck and forcibly touched her crotch.

She asked to sleep in the living room, where she fell asleep fully dressed, but awoke the next day while the man was sexually assaulting her and videotaping it. She pushed him away and he tried to apologize, but she demanded a ride home from his mother. They later had a text message conversation in which she demanded the man delete any videos of the incident.

Earlier in 2024, in January, the third victim and the fourth victim, who are sisters, shared a hotel room with the man in Pine Falls and drank together. The fourth victim fell asleep next to her sister, but awoke early the next morning, finding her pants and underwear were off, as the man took photographs of her under the blanket. She got up and the man ran to the bathroom.

The man was arrested on March 19, 2024. Police later found photo and videos he took of his various sex crimes as well as images and videos of child sexual abuse that he downloaded from the internet on his two cell phones.

The man is expected to be sentenced later this year, after the completion of a forensic psychological report as well as a Gladue report.

The man’s lawyer, Saul Simmonds, said the Crown is planning to seek a “significant” term in federal prison — which would require a sentence of two years or more — while he is planning to ask for a significantly shorter sentence.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca